Team Losi Racing’s Adam Drake claimed the 3rd & final round of Buggy qualifying at the Dirt Nitro Challenge, the Truggy Top Qualifier just outpacing Kyosho’s Jared Tebo who already wrapped up the top spot on the grid for Sunday’s final in Q2. Drake’s 12 lap TQ for the round will see his 8ight 3.0 line up third on the grid behind Team Assocaited’s Ryan Maifield who was third fastest in Q3. Setting the fifth fastest time for the round just 16/100ths off his Kyosho team-mate Cody King, Elliot Boots will start his first ever 1:8 Buggy race in the US from fourth on the grid and as the Top European. Three time European Champion Renaud Savoya who recorded the the 7th fastest time for the round which saw another after midnight finish to the days action will line-up 5th for the 45-minute fifteen buggy Main. With 12 direct qualifiers defending champion Ty Tessmann just made the cut setting the 8th fastest time in Q3 which secured him 12th on the grid.

Jared Tebo is the Top Qualifier for the Dirt Nitro Challenge, the Kyosho driver putting the honour beyond the reach of his rivals with one round to go after he backed up his Q1 run by again topping the time sheets at the famous Arizona event. Have just seen off his team-mate Elliot Boots by less than a second in Q1, birthday boy Tebo posted a much more convincing Q2 taking the round by over 6 seconds from Team Associated’s Ryan Maifield and A-Main Hobbies’ Dylan Rodriguez putting in yet another impressive performance this weekend to complete the Top 3.

Top Qualifier at the 2011 DNC which he went on to win, Tebo was very happy with his run which was almost 7 seconds faster than his time set in the opening heat. Leaving the set-up of his MP9 chassis the same and continuing with AKA Impact tyres, the 26-year-old did change to a different pipe and clutch on his Orion engine, the extra torque improving the buggy, in particular at the tricky centre double section. Asked what he planned for the final qualifier, which looks set to end sometime after 1 am local time, Tebo said he didn’t really have anything to test as the buggy feels really good but with Sunday’s final set to be a late affair he will use the track time to see how the cooler conditions effect the handling.

Having struggled yesterday in Truggy and had a below par performance in the opening buggy qualifier, Maifield bounced back in Q2 after he discovered a radio gear problem. With the problem rectified for his second heat, the Arizona driver was much happier with his RC8 adding that slowing his LRP engine down had also helped improve his performance. Suffering two crashes over the 7-minute run, Maifield said running early for the round he benefited from a faster track at the time of his run which was held in natural day light. In contrast his Associated team-mate Ryan Cavalieri ran in the last group for the round which was much colder and run under flood lights ending up only 11th fastest.

Rodriguez was happy at setting the third fastest time just missing out on making 12 laps which so far only Tebo, Maifield and Boots have achieved. Changing from X3 to M3 compound Proline Blockades for Q2, the Las Vegas driver said this was a good call as the softer compound was well suited to the conditions at the time of his run. Having relished in last night’s third Truggy Qualifier to TQ the round, Rodriquez plans to make a few tweaks to the set-up of his Kyosho chassis to suit what, going by last night, should make for a slightly faster track.

Team Xray’s Renaud Savoya said he couldn’t be happier with his second run, the French ace again opting for a safe drive which netted him the fourth fastest time guaranteeing the French ace a good starting position for Sunday’s blue ribbon final. Leaving the set and choice of Sweep tyre the same as Q1 he said his XB9 was again easy to drive. While the A-Main drivers will get a practice session on Sunday, Savoya said that Q3 offers the best opportunity to try tyres with a view to the final which in tradition DNC style will be run at night. The multiple European Champion said he will make a choice between Sweep’s Battlestar and Exagon pattern for the final qualifier.

Setting the fifth fastest time just ahead of the Kyoshos of Drew Moller, Cody King and Boots, Team Losi Racing’s Adam Drake said running in one of the later heats was a disadvantage so for the conditions he was happy with his run. The 1:8 Offroad legend who ran Proline M3 Blockades said for the final qualifier he is considering trying a different tyre and insert in anticipation of the track conditions which should have more grip as the cold causes moisture to naturally occur in the dirt.

The star of the opening buggy qualifier, Boots could only manage the 8th fastest time in Q2. With the track watered just before his group took to the track the British ace said his Kyosho which was unchanged from his P2 run earlier in the day was very loose. Confident it was due to the slightly heavier than normal watering of the track on that occasion he said he doesn’t plan on changing his MP9 set-up or tyres for the final heat. Unfortunately for Ty Tessmann, who was in the same heat as Boots, it was another difficult qualifier. Feeling increasingly under the weather the defending champion would only post the 15th fastest time.

Chassis Name – Kyosho Inferno MP9Engine – Team Orion CRF B321Tires – AKARadio/Servos – KO PropoRemarks – Jared is running the exact same car that he took off the track following the semi final at last December’s World Championships in Argentina. The only change in terms of equipment is a fresh Team Orion engine and Jared has also changed fuel sponsor to Sidewinder for this new season. Having not driven gas offroad since last year he seems to have lost none of his speed, taking the overall TQ in this highly competitive class.

2011 Dirt Nitro Challenge Champion Jared Tebo got his 26th birthday off to the perfect start as he headed a Kyosho 1-2 from Elliott Boots in the opening round of qualifying for the 14th running of the world famous Arizona event. Running earlier than Boots in the round Tebo had to watch an impressive run from US debutant Boots, the World Championship Top Qualifier just 8/100ths shy of the TQ at the end of the 7-minute run with the pair the only drivers to record 12 laps. Just missing out on joining them on 12-laps, Team Xray’s Renaud Savoya completed the Top 3.

Having had a frustrating day yesterday in Truggy Qualifying in which he ended up 4th, Tebo ran a near perfect opening buggy heat with his Orion powered MP9 looking very stable around the signature Joey Christensen track. Running soft compound AKA Impact tyres he said everything ‘felt good’ and ‘excited for the next one’ he doesn’t plan to make any changes other than mounting a second set of Impact tyres to have should conditions at the time of Q2, which is over 5 hours away, warrant fresh rubber.

Impressing a lot of onlookers with spectacular driving style, British National Champion Boots was happy to claim second having had not prior practice with his nitro buggy on any US style track on this his first time to visit the country. Running Proline’s Diamond Back tyre in X3 compound the teenager said he plans to run everything the same in Q2 and just focus on learning the track more and cutting out mistakes.

Three time European Champion & 2012 DNC Finalist Savoya said he went into the first qualifier looking to put in smooth run by taking no risks and that approach would pay off for the French ace. Running Sweep’s Square Armour tyre on his Orion powered XB9, Savoya said the soft compound made the buggy very easy to drive if at the cost of a little forward traction but the end result was a clean round which he hopes he can repeat in Q2 so as allowing him to try something different in Q3 with a view to preparing for Sunday’s main event.

Fourth fastest Billy Fischer was very happy with his run joking that ‘its been a long time since I said damn I messed up and only got fourth’. The Team Losi Racing driver said he had a few moments but luckily didnt need to be marshaled. Running the same set of Proline M3 Blockades he used to TQ the final round of 1:8 eBuggy last night he said they worked really well but for the next one he has no choice but to mount a fresh set which could make his 8ight 3.0 a little more edgy to drive. In terms of his buggy set he plans to run a thicker oil all round for this evening’s Q2.

Ryan Cavalieri was on a very competitive run until he first got hit as he passed a slower buggy and then on the last lap he had a moment right before the loop which cost him over 2-seconds. Fitted with soft AKA Impact tyres the factory Associated driver said his buggy was good but he just made a mistake which cost him a TQ run. Pleased with his pace he will leave everything as is in terms of set-up but with the huge amount of time between rounds they will give the buggy a full rebuild ahead of the next heat.

Completing the Top 6 was A-Main Hobbies team driver Dylan Rodriguez. Topping the final round of Truggy qualifying last night, the Las Vegas driver’s run didn’t start out too well as it took some time for the fresh set of Proline Blockade tyres on his Kyosho to break in but once they did it felt exactly how he wanted and was very consistent to drive. Finishing 8th at last years Dirt Nitro Challenge he said for now he doesn’t plan to make any adjustments for Q2 hoping instead to capitalize on his scrubbed in tyres.

For defending Champion Ty Tessmann it was a tough opening qualifier, the factory HB driver ending up only 17th fastest. The US National Champion based his set-up on his OS Speed powered D8 for Q1 on the conditions of the track this morning which was bumpy, but by the time his heat came round the surface had become very polished. With the buggy very loose the the Canadian said it resulted in him making a lot of mistakes but he is confident that a change of set-up and switch from Proline’s X3 Blockade to the X3 Diamond Back which Boots used to good effect, he will be competitive in Q2.

Austin Blair is the Top Qualifier in the 1:8 e-Buggy class at this year’s Dirt Nitro Challenge, the 18-year-old A-Main Hobbies team driver taking the honour ahead of TLR team drivers Billy Fischer, Mike Truhe, Adam Drake and Jacob Haas. The three rounds of qualifying saw Truhe set the pace in Q1 ahead of Blair who in turned up the pace in Q2 to TQ the round from Drake. In the final & deciding qualifier, which was run in the small hours of Friday morning, Fischer set a new fastest time becoming the only driver to run 12 laps of Joey ‘The Dirt’ Christensen’s track creation at the Fear Farm ahead of Team Durango’s Ryan Lutz. Setting the 3rd fastest time in Q3 with Truhe and Drake only 10th & 4th respectively, this was enough to give Blair pole position for the single 8 minute A-Main by a single point from Fischer.

A-Main Hobbies team driver Dylan Rodriguez claimed the 3rd & final round of Truggy qualifying at the Dirt Nitro Challenge, the just turned 19-year-old putting in the fastest run of the day ahead of Team Associated’s Ryan Cavalieri and Kyosho pairing of Jared Tebo and Cody King. Having sewn up the overall TQ honours in Q2 after setting the pace in the opening two heats, TLR’s Adam Drake set the 8th fastest time in between defending Champion Ty Tessmann and Ryan Lutz whose Durango will start the final from 2nd on the grid. Drake topped his Q3 heat to set the provisional pace but lost it to Tessmann who had his time bettered by Mike Truhe who in turn lost the top spot to Cavalieri.

Running in the penultimate group of Pro Buggy, the day’s qualifying being completed at 1am, Rodriguez would better Cavalieri’s time by just over a second to TQ the round. Running in the same heat as Rodriguez and finishing second to the Las Vegas driver, Team Xray’s Martin Bayer became the only European driver to make the Top 10 in qualifying as he posted the fifth fastest time in Q3.

Having struggled with his truggy in the opening two heats, Rodriguez went for a heavier oil in his diffs for Q3 which he said made his Kyosho chassis ‘much more drivable’. Suffering one crash on the run when he crashed as he lapped traffic which required him to be marshaled Rodriguez said with the way his truggy is working now he is confident that a good result is on the cards for Saturday’s Truggy A-Main of which 12 qualifying directly with 3 to bump up from the B-Main.

Tomorrow’s action now switches to nitro buggy with a number of the top factory drivers hoping that they will have better fortunes in the blue ribbon class than they had in Truggy. Elliot Boots’ poor run of luck continued as his Kyosho truggy lost its receiver battery pack putting him on the side lines. Last year’s Top Qualifier Ryan Maifield along with 3-time European Champion Renaud Savoya were two others who failed to go the full distance in Q3.

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Introduction

Red RC are making our annual trip to the Fear Farm Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona for the 2015 Dirt Nitro Challenge. The international season opener for the gas offroad class, each year it attracts close to 700 entries and this year will once again be stacked with talent all with the goal of taking the wins in the blue ribboned truggy and buggy classes, dominated last year by one man, Canadian Ty Tessmann. Red RC's coverage begins in full on Wednesday afternoon (18th) and we will be trackside bringing you reports, insights, videos and photos directly from the track throughout the week.